The Dootsie Has Spoken

Gallbladder Update

So I had my surgery back in July. I anticipated the worst after that sucker came out, but things actually went really smoothly for me. I ate sushi on day three after the surgery and pizza the same week. Aside from random discomfort in my scars and some changes to “normal” for my body, things have gone pretty smoothly.

Mostly.

Higher fat content meals are bothering me more lately. I’m gassier and I have rare, occasional heartburn (something I’ve been blessed to have maybe once a year before now.) If I skip meals, I get diarrhea. It’s–interesting? weird?–to see how my digestive system has changed in the months after my surgery. I have to graze. I do have to watch the fat content of my meals, though it only seems to matter if it gets astronomical. My migraines haven’t stopped, but my diarrhea/indigestion symptoms with that have almost totally disappeared (I still can’t eat anything before or during a migraine, but it’s been a world of difference.)

It’s still the best money I’ve ever spend, though I’m still paying for it (ugh, need to do that today.) But my experience? Still solidly positive, despite the changes it’s made to my routine.

Oh, gosh, I read HORROR stories before I had my surgery. I wasn’t going to be dissuaded from having the surgery because I had a constant, unrelenting gallbladder attack from the start of July all the way until my surgery–the 26th–but I was pretty certain I was going to be fighting with diarrhea for the rest of my life. Not so!
Heartburn is a known side effect–or more precisely, GERD. TMI alert from here on out: There’s a risk of bile backup which is very icky and damaging, so I just have to keep a close eye on it.
It’s less weird than you think! The gross scientific explanation is that now that my bile isn’t being stored, it’s flowing freely. With no food present, the bile just keeps on truckin’ through.

You are very lucky. I have a friend that fell into the one percent that has to take medicine with every meal so that she can digest it and she pretty much has to live on plain chicken and rice. The only upside for her is that we live in Canada so no medical bills.

She has all of my sympathy, truly. I was so afraid I’d be in that boat. I know of people who elected to have the surgery because “it’s so easy, you’ll feel SO MUCH BETTER” and who are now saddled with those sorts of symptoms.